GDHQNHL15_f-Hidden Gems 5

Buffalo Sabres Gameday HQ

NEW YORK RANGERS
CHRIS KREIDER, Left Wing
Kreider wasn’t such a secret superstar as he broke out during the
Rangers’ run to the Stanley Cup Finals. 2013-14 was a breakout season for
Kreider as he scored 37 points and established himself as a big, physical
presence good at taking the puck away from opponents.
OTTAWA SENATORS
MIKA ZIBANEJAD, Center
Zibanejad got a bad rap last year as a player who underachieved, but
his level of performance was better than he got credit for. He was a good
puck possession player with goal scoring abilities and should continue to
improve at the young age of 21.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
MICHAEL RAFFL, Left Wing
Raffl didn’t even make the opening day
roster on the Flyers last year, but he was very
good when he got a chance to play. Raffl isn’t
a prolific scorer but plays a very physical style
and is good at clearing the way for teammates to
attack the net.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Chris Kunitz, Left Wing
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin get most
of the headlines in Pittsburgh, and rightfully
so. However, Kunitz had a career year on the
Penguins last year, scoring 68 points and playing
well on both ends of the ice.
SAN JOSE SHARKS
MARC-EDOUARD VLASIC, Defensemen
Vlasic is one of the better defensive
defensemen in the league. He is consistently
able to shut down star forwards and anchors
the San Jose penalty kill. Vlasic doesn’t receive
much attention but he is quietly one of the most
valuable players on the Sharks.
ST. LOUIS BLUES
VLADIMIR TARASENKO, Right Wing
Tarasenko stepped up in a big way in his second season, scoring 21
goals and 22 assists while leading the Blues in relative Corsi, an indicator
that Tarasenko was excellent in puck possession as well.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
NIKITA KUCHEROV, Right Wing
Kucherov played in just 52 games last season as a 20-year-old, but
was very effective as he scored 18 points, earned a +3 rating, and was one
of the team’s best at winning possession of the puck.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
JAKE GARDINER, Defensemen
Gardiner is a young defenseman who has shown a lot of promise on
offense, scoring 31 points last year and becoming a serious power play
threat. Gardiner is also great at puck possession, a skill sorely needed on a
struggling Maple Leafs team.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
DAN HAMHUIS, Defensemen
On a team full of players who underachieved last year, Hamhuis
was a constant source of reliability. Hamhuis is an excellent defender
who regularly competes against the opponent’s top line and on the
penalty kill as well.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
DMITRY ORLOV, Defensemen
Orlov isn’t much of a scorer. He only had 3 goals and 8 assists
in 54 games played last year. What he provides for the Capitals is a
defenseman who is solid on the penalty kill and excellent in puck
possession. Orlov is a good complement in a pairing with scoring
defenseman Mike Green.
WINNIPEG JETS
MICHAEL FROLIK, Right Wing
Frolik is never his team’s leading scorer, but brought a championship
pedigree with him when he arrived in Winnipeg from Chicago. Frolik is
solid at just about everything—scoring, puck possession, special teams,
and he almost never has penalties called against him.
DAN HAMHUIS